Lothar Göttsching

Lothar Göttsching was born August 7, 1936, in Berlin, Germany, to Robert and Margarete Göttsching. Dr. Göttsching began his distinguished career in paper technology in 1956, obtaining his first degree in paper engineering in 1961 from the Technische Hochschule Darmstadt (TH Darmstadt), now Technische Universität Darmstadt (TU Darmstadt). From 1961 to 1966 Dr. Göttsching was a research assistant at the Finnish Pulp and Paper Research Institute (KCL) in Helsinki. In 1969 he received his doctorate (Dr.-Ing.) at TH Darmstadt. From 1966 to 1971 he was head of research and development for Vereinigte Verpackungsgesellschaft GmbH in Monheim/Rheinland, a company with five board and paper mills. In 1971 he returned to TH Darmstadt to become the fourth person to lead the Institute of Paper Science and Technology following Prof. Dr.-Ing. Walter Brecht.

As head of the program at TH Darmstadt, Dr. Göttsching has trained more than 500 paper scientists for the paper and allied industries. Dr. Göttsching provided exposure to paper making technology well beyond the borders of Germany. He has nurtured and grown relationships around the globe. In 1985 he took a group of students on a tour of mainland China’s paper technology following a study tour to Kenya and South Africa in 1984.

Dr. Göttsching has also been a prolific author. He has published over 400 articles and is the author/editor of three books. He was the editor and a major contributor to Recycled Fiber and Deinking, a book jointly published by the Finnish Paper Engineers’ Association and the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry (TAPPI) as part of a multi-volume series on papermaking technology. His major areas of research included pressing, drying, and recycling of paper including pulping and deinking of recycled fibers. One major part of his work was devoted to environmental protection by closed white water systems, biological effluent treatment and reject and sludge treatment in the paper industry. Further priority was given to the analysis of organic and inorganic detrimental substances of pulp, paper, white water, reject, and sludges.

In addition to providing leadership to the Institute of Paper Science and Technology in Darmstadt, Dr. Göttsching has been an active member and leader in many paper industry organizations. He is a member of the Finnish Paper Engineers’ Association (PI), the German Paper Engineers’ Association (ZELLCHEMING), the Canadian Paper Engineers’ Association (PAPTAC), the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Association (TAPPI), and Japanese Tappi, among others. He has served on the board of directors of the German Paper Engineers’ Association (1971-2007), was the chairman of the Technical Committee for Pulp and Paper Testing of ZELLCHEMING (1971-2002), was a member of the Executive Committee of EUCEPA (1973-1999), and served as the chairman of Executive Committee of EUCEPA from 1975 to 1983, being responsible for the organization of more than a dozen conferences and symposia in ten European countries.

Dr. Göttsching has been recognized for his service and contributions to the industry by the Finnish Paper Engineers’ Association with the Jansson Award (1972), honored by TAPPI as a Fellow in 1981, received the Brecht Medal of the German Paper Engineers’ Association in 1983, was named an Honorary Member by the EUCEPA Liaison Committee for the Pulp and Paper Industry (1984), and received the Stenback Plaque of the Finnish Paper Engineers’ Association in 1989, followed by the Honorary Membership of PI in 2004. He received a Dr.-Ing. h.c. from the Technical University of Grenoble in 1994.

On October 1, 2002, Dr. Göttsching retired from TU Darmstadt, but his influence on the industry continues by lecturing at home as well as abroad (e.g. Eastern Europe, India, Vietnam, Brazil).

His family includes wife Christel and children Silke Nos, Kirsti Langsdorf, Bernd Göttsching, Alexander Göttsching, and four grandchildren.

In the beginning of his career he enjoyed among other hobbies: jogging, cross-country skiing, and playing the flute. On his retirement, his wife persuaded him to take up golf, though his handicap is still a well kept secret! Thanks to their fine physical and mental conditions, Lothar and Christel are increasingly interested in traveling in Europe and abroad, including cruises in the Mediterranean and the Caribbean (2008) and to South Africa as the next destination.

Kari Ebeling

Kari Ebeling was born in Helsinki on September 20, 1940, but spent his childhood and school years in a northern mill town, Kajaani, where his father was the chief forester of a pulp, paper, and sawmilling company. He received the master of science degree in paper technology from Helsinki University of Technology in 1963. In 1965, Dr. Ebeling journeyed to the United States and received a doctorate degree from The Institute of Paper Chemistry. His thesis was on structural behavior of paper in straining. After returning home, he attended the Finnish Institute of Management in 1973.

Dr. Kari Ebeling started his career as a research assistant at KCL, the Finnish Pulp and Paper Research Institute, serving from 1963 to 1965. He was manager, R&D for Nokia Forest Industries from 1970 to 1978.

From 1978 to 1987, Dr. Ebeling served as professor, Paper Technology, at Helsinki University of Technology, leading approximately 100 master of science engineers and 10 licentiates of technology or D.Sc (post graduates). At the beginning of this time he also served as scientific advisor to Tampella Engineering Company. At the end of this period he consulted with Finnish and Swedish forest industry and engineering companies.

From 1987 to 1989, Dr. Ebeling worked as director, Corporate R&D for James River Corporation. From 1989 to 2004, he served as director, Corporate R&D and senior scientific advisor for Kymmene and, after the merger, UPM-Kymmene Corporation. He retired in 2004.

Dr. Kari Ebeling served in leadership positions with the Finnish Engineering Society, the Finnish Academy of Engineering Sciences, and KCL, the Finnish Pulp and Paper Research Institute. He served in similar Positions with ESPRA, the Empire State Paper Research Association in New York; EIRMA, the European Industrial Research Management Association in Paris; and IPST, the Institute of Paper Science and Technology in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A. He is a member of TAPPI, the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry.

His thesis on structural behavior of paper in straining was judged best in the 1970 class at The Institute of Paper Chemistry and brought him The Westbrooke Steel Medal. The thesis formed the basis for future research in the industry. He is the author or co-author of 56 publications, and contributed chapters to several textbooks.

Among honors, he is a TAPPI Fellow, received the SLR I medal from the Republic of Finland and the Keller Award from the German Papier Technische Stiftung, and is an invited member of The Royal Swedish Engineering Academy. The Finnish Paper Engineers’ Association awarded him the Stenback medal. The Finnish Foundation for Advancement of Technology (TES) gave Dr. Ebeling the 2007 Technology Prize for his contributions of educating skillful master of science paper engineers for the industry needs, of successful R&D and for promoting a R&D-positive atmosphere for the paper industry of Finland.

Consensus is that Dr. Ebeling, after his experiences at The Institute of Paper Chemistry and his exposure to U.S. management practices, brought back to Finland the focus on developing and applying advanced science-based technology and the management perspective of thinking long term. This way he continued and developed further the fine research and education traditions of his predecessor, Professor Niilo Ryti, a 1997 Paper Industry International Hall of Fame inductee.

Today, the Finnish forest products industry, including pulp and paper, is recognized as a leader in the world for its employment of technology and modern production facilities. Due to consolidation, many of the companies in the United States and around the world are owned in part or all by Finnish-based companies.

Dr. Kari Ebeling married his wife, Tuula, in 1963. They have two children, Petri and Niina and seven grandchildren.  (Dr. Ebeling died in 2012)

Harry T Cullinan

Harry T. Cullinan was born in Jackson Heights, New York, on May 27, 1938. He received his bachelor of science in chemical engineering from the University of Detroit in 1961 and his master of science in 1963 and doctorate in 1965, both from Carnegie Institute of Technology, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

From 1960 to 1961, he was development engineer with Avon Cosmetics and from 1963 to 1964 research engineer with Westinghouse Research. Later he joined the State University of New York at Buffalo, worked there from 1964 to 1976, and rose through the professional ranks to become professor and chairman. From 1972 to 1973 he was a visiting professor at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology.

In 1976 he joined The Institute of Paper Chemistry as academic dean and vice president – academic affairs and held those positions until 1987. From 1989 to 1991, he was director, Australian Pulp and Paper Institute and, in 1991, left to become director, Pulp and Paper Research and Education Center, Auburn University, where he is active now.

Harry Cullinan has made numerous important pioneering contributions to the paper industry as a leader, researcher, and academician over his 40-year career. At the Institute of Paper Chemistry (IPC), he revitalized the graduate program with a new master of science program and received 10-year accreditation for the program. At the Australian Pulp and Paper Institute (APPI), Cullinan established the base for strong research capabilities in process engineering and a new postgraduate degree program leading to the degree of master of engineering science in Pulp and Paper Technology.

At Auburn University, he has been extremely active in people-development programs. He played a key role in substantially increasing the number of company supporters to the pulp and paper foundation and thus created additional funding for student scholarships to attract the best and the brightest students to the industry.

Cullinan is the pioneering leader in forming the Pulp and Paper Education and Research Alliance (PPERA) and its only president who has been re-elected time after time. Under his direction, PPERA provides a forum for the universities to share information and develop strategies to better meet the current and future needs of the paper industry.

Under Cullinan’s leadership, Auburn University formed a partnership with Alabama Southern Community College to develop pulp and paper operator training programs and launched the National Network for Pulp and Paper Technology Training under the auspices of the American Forest and Paper Association’s U.C. Agenda 2020 Technologically Advanced Workforce initiative.

Cullinan established the Sensor Technology Unit at Auburn to develop and commercialize near-infrared sensor systems for real time chemical analysis of pulp and paper process streams, currently used at six mill locations. Also, a Woodfiber Initiative in Science and Engineering (WISE) was started with PPERA and The Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) to address the issues related to underutilized residuals in our nation’s forests. This initiative focuses on developing the fundamental science and technology needed to separate wood into its basic components at near theoretical yield in order to allow for the economic production of ethanol and other chemicals from wood as a sustainable and renewable alternative to petroleum. As follow-on to WISE, Auburn University has launched a major alternative energy initiative, and several other PPERA universities have begun similar programs focused on the conversion of pulp mills into biorefineries.

Cullinan has nearly 70 publications and has given over 150 presentations. He is a TAPPI Fellow and a recipient of the TAPPI Herman L. Joachim Distinguished Service Award.

He resides with his wife, Di Ann, and son, Kevin, in Opelika, Alabama.

György Vámos

György Vámos was born in Budapest, Hungary, on July 7, 1912. He received his degree in mechanical engineering in 1934 and his PhD in chemistry from Budapest University of Technology in 1956.

After receiving his engineering degree, he began his career in the paper industry at the Csepel Paper Mill in 1934 and became a vice-director in 1944. In 1949 he founded the Hungarian Paper and Cellulose Research Institute and headed it for 23 years. Under his management the institute elaborated and introduced several pulp and paper making technologies, the most important ones being the production of pulp from wheat straw, the use of hardwood species for pulp production, and the production technology of printing-writing papers and household and hygiene papers. Thanks to the foundation of the Paper Research Institute, the country acquired its own research base and became a net paper exporter.

In 1949 Dr. Vámos also founded Papiripar, the Hungarian Paper Industry Journal. He was chief editor of the publication from 1949 to 1998.

Starting in 1972 he worked as the first general director of Budapest Polytechnic where he organized the department of paper technology and educated several generations of engineers for the industry. He wrote many technical publications in Hungarian for the paper industry in his country among which were The Handbook and The Technology Vocabulary of the Paper Industry and text books for students. Throughout his whole life he organized the international cooperation of paper makers and paper scientists of eastern and western European countries.

György Vámos was very active in the paper industry and was a founding member of the Technical Association of Hungarian Paper & Printing Industries, acting as its president from 1978 to 1983. He was also the founding chairman of the Association of Scientific and Industrial Journalists. Membership was also held in the Association of German Paper Makers and the International Association of Scientific Paper Makers (IASPM).

Dr. Vámos’ wife, Ilona Szaruas-Vámos, was a piano teacher and cultural manager of the city of Budapest. She passed away in 1992. Dr. Vámos followed her in death in 2002. They had one daughter, Éva Vámos, in 1942, and have one grandson, Gabor Eros.

George P Mueller

George Mueller was born in Sherwood, Wisconsin, U.S.A., on July 31, 1921. As a youth, he worked selling magazines and newspapers, groceries, hardware, farm goods, and ran a popcorn stand.

He received his college degree in chemistry from Lawrence College (now University) in 1943 and later received advanced training in electronics at Harvard and MIT. After World War II, he initiated the formation of and worked with the Naval Research Electronics Warfare Company. He then joined Marathon Corporation, working in process engineering. He developed wax blends and innovative testing procedures for new flexible packaging products, including Glamakote (the first high gloss wax paper), and fast drying adhesives, quickly becoming a group leader. He became plant manager of the Neenah, Canal, and Ashland Tissue plants.

He moved on to the Wisconsin Tissue Mills (WTM) in 1968 as vice president of manufacturing, was named executive vice president in 1981, and president in 1983. WTM was acquired by Phillip Morris Industrials in 1983 and by Chesapeake in 1985. Mueller continued as president of WTM and group vice president for Chesapeake, and was a board member for both companies. During his 20 years with the company, it grew from 250 employees to over 1,400, with production expanded from 13,000 tons to 185,000 tons per year. In 1980, the fastest Yankee paper machine of the time was installed at 6,000 feet per minute. He led the conversion to 100% recycled fiber, and a unique waste water treatment plant, Zurn-Attisholz, was commissioned, the first in North America. He retired in 1988.

In 1989, he led the response to a need for special paper related testing in the Midwest, caused by the move of The Institute of Paper Chemistry to Atlanta, Georgia, by co-founding Integrated Paper Services and served as its chairman for 12 years. He personally traveled to Midwest paper mills to gather support for the new testing facility.

In 1992, Mueller co-founded the Paper Industry Hall of Fame and he served as its chairman until the end of 2005. During this time, the Hall of Fame went international and was renamed the Paper Industry International Hall of Fame. He led the startup of the Paper Discovery Center on the banks of the Fox River in Appleton, Wisconsin, after accepting the Atlas Mill from Kimberly-Clark.

Mr. Mueller is an Appleton West High School Hall of Fame inductee and received the North Central Division PIMA “Man of the Year” award. He was a member of TAPPI (Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry) for 52 years, API (American Paper Institute), and ASTM (American Society of Testing Materials), and served as president of the Wisconsin Paper Council.

Outside of work and family, his passion in life has been giving back to the community. He served on a committee which worked on the redevelopment of Menasha and moved Wisconsin Tissue Mills’ corporate office to its downtown. In addition to giving of his time, he has also given financially to the community and continues to fund scholarships at Lawrence University and Fox Valley Technical College.

George and his wife, Joan, were married in Appleton, Wisconsin, on December 27th, 1943. She is deceased. He has four children, Greg, Tim, Tobin and Toni (deceased); ten grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.

Curt G. Joa

Curt Joa was born Aug 8, 1903, in Mannheim, Germany, and spent much of his early life in Obervolkach, where his grandparents lived. That home was undamaged by two world wars, and he maintained it until his death.

He studied engineering and business and received a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Frankfurt University and a doctorate in business from Wurzburg University. Both were completed in 1924, after which he came to the United States.

He roamed the country a bit and had a series of jobs, including one as a car salesman. In Terre Haute, Indiana, he drove a milk truck. When he saw farmers wasting their time with frequent trips to town, he offered to run errands for 10 cents a trip.

Mr. Joa started work as an engineer for Bucyrus-Erie Co. in Evansville, Indiana, and was transferred to its plant in South Milwaukee. After a time with A.O. Smith, he joined Mirro Aluminum in Manitowoc, employed as a tool and die designer. When the Great Depression arrived, and cutbacks ensued, he gave up his job so a co-worker could keep his. Eager to strike out on his own, he became a consulting engineer and specialized in showing pulp and paper mills and malt houses how to cut waste.

In 1931, the Diana Company asked him to design a machine to help automate the production of sanitary napkins. In 1932, Joa officially formed his company. Curt G. Joa Inc. quickly earned a reputation as a leading machinery manufacturer for the disposable paper and nonwovens industries. Today, the company is in its third generation of family ownership, with a modern plant in Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin and its European sales and engineering support offices located in Andernach, Germany. The company designs and manufactures equipment for the production of disposable diapers, adult incontinence products, and sanitary napkins, plus many other applications.

Mr. Joa received his first patent in 1934 for the world’s first completely automatic machine for making sanitary napkins. A total of 62 patents have been assigned to Mr. Joa, and 120 others have been assigned to Curt G. Joa, Inc. On most of his patents, he is listed as the single inventor. Of particular note, quite a number of his patents have been cited in subsequent patents, an example of leading originality.

He established “The Joa Plan,” building a plant in Fort Pierce, Florida, and offering half day employment to retired employees who could then supplement their pensions and Social Security checks and keep their minds and bodies active. He created the CARM Youth Camp in which boys primarily from Milwaukee worked and learned on the company farms. Astronaut James Lovell is an alumnus and visited the farm after his dramatic flight on Apollo 13 in 1970.

Articles about Mr. Joa have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The Miami Journal, the Miami Herald, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Today’s Health, Pathfinder, and The Exchangite. There is a chapter about “The Joa Plan” in the book, Earning Opportunities, published by the Michigan Press. Mr. Joa presented a paper on the subject of “Dry Fiberization of Pulp” at the 1977 Paper Synthetics Conference of TAPPI in Chicago.

He is a Life Fellow in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

In 1925, Mr. Joa met Martha Frieda Rydberg (deceased) in Vincennes, Indiana. They were married shortly after in Shawneetown, Illinois. They had three children, Curt G. Joa, Jr. (deceased), Anna Mae Miley (deceased), and Ruth Joyce Kiela (deceased). There are 14 grandchildren, 26 great-grandchildren, and 8 great-great-grandchildren.

Curt Joa died in Ocean Ridge, Florida, on November 8, 1998.